Only While Human
by ILuvMyMiroku
Summary: This takes place while Inuyasha is human for a night. I worked really hard on this, but sorry if it doesn't make sense! COMPLETED!
1. Introduction

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha! I only own the story! But wouldn't it be good if I did own the show? Or the manga? Hmm… Anyway, I hope you enjoy! This kinda took me a long time to write. But besides my meaningless rambling, Inuyasha belongs to Rumiko Takahashi.

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Only While Human

Chapter One: Introduction

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The new moon hovered in the sky as our favorite hanyou leaned against the wooden wall of a small hut that consisted of 2 rooms, looking around at his friends around him. They were ready to protect him at any moment if danger, such as a youkai, would attack. Everyone was aware that it was Inuyasha's night to turn human, the night he felt human emotions other than his hanyou ones. The night that his claws were gone and the Tetsaiga wouldn't evolve, leaving him liable to die. He once again looked around at his friends, tucking his black hair behind human ears. Around him, Sango was polishing her boomerang (Hiraikotsu) as Miroku was sitting nearby with his usual smirk, admiring the red handprint on the side of his face because of his lecherous ways. Shippo was coloring, and Kagome was sitting beside Inuyasha, almost in slumber.

"Inuyasha…" Kagome softly said, turning her head to stare up at the boy. "What's wrong? You have been acting different ever since we got here." she said, just able to get it all out before she let out a long and loud yawn, placing her bow and arrows on the wooden floor beside her. "What's on your mind?"

Inuyasha smiled down at the girl that sat beside him. He then shook his head, placing his hands behind his head as he looked up at the ceiling. "I'm fine, Kagome. Really. There isn't anything you should concentrate on besides the jewel right now. Sure, I might be human, but we still have to concentrate on getting all the pieces of the jewel! I have a weird feeling that maybe a lot of demons are going to try and take the shards from us tonight, some demons know my weak night."

Kagome nodded and looked down, reaching her hand up so she could hold her necklace in the palm of her hand. Her necklace was made up of the Shikon no Tama jewel shards that they had collected so far. Just only one small shard could turn the nicest thing into an object of evil and destruction-- horrible! She looked up at Inuyasha once more, finding that once again it looked like he was dazing off into space, which was nothing new on nights like this.

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'Kagome, if only I could tell you the truth,' Inuyasha thought, still continuing to stare up at the ceiling, lost in thought. _'It's my human nights like these when I feel more attraction to you more than ever, I just don't have the courage to say it, but its like you already know. But… on the downside, it's also a reminder of my past, what I first intended the jewel's power to do. To make me a human permanently for the rest of my life, spending the remainder of those years with Kikyo. Kikyo-- The same woman who, because of Naraku, made it seem like we had betrayed one another. Kikyo-- The same woman who pinned me to the sacred tree a little over 50 years ago. Kikyo-- The same woman… That I loved.' _He continued thinking, finding himself sighing as a flashback moment occurred. He could feel the warmth of Kikyo's embrace, the nice scent flowing off her body, in his mind hearing the soft whispers they used to tell one another. And the soft feeling of her lips against his, just as Kikyo had told him not to forget the feeling. But he hadn't have a clue why he still loved her, for she had said that right after she tried to drag him to hell with her. Right now, Inuyasha didn't know who to protect-- or whom to stay with. He loved Kikyo, but also had a growing urge for Kagome that seemed to grow stronger and stronger each day.

"What do you suppose Inuyasha could be thinking?" Miroku asked, now sitting beside Sango who was still both polishing her boomerang and keeping a good eye on the monk next to her, watching for any suspicious movements.

Sango looked up, lightly smiling as she saw Kirara mew and lay down in Miroku's lap. "I'm not sure," she answered truthfully, placing the cloth in her hand to the floor beside her, taking a break from her cleaning and waxing job. "From the inside his mind, he could be thinking of anything."

"Who knows what he is thinking in that dog-mind of his," Shippo perked up, coloring another picture of what he imagined to look like older. "He's probably thinking of that Kikyo person."

Kagome frowned, slowly nodding to herself at the fact that it was probably true. Although she wasn't entirely sure, tears threatened to fall as they burned the corners of her eyes, not noticing that Inuyasha had once again changed his gaze and had been looking down at her the whole time.

"Kagome, is something the matter?" Sango asked as she stood, walking over to her best friend, stopping as Kirara got up from Miroku and jumped into her arms.

"No, not at all!" Kagome said as she fought back the urge to either sob or sigh, forcing a smile across her face. "I'm fine! Really!" The words slipped out, but everyone could tell she was anything but fine. "Sango, could I speak to you? Outside?" she then stood and grabbed her large yellow backpack from the corner of the room as Sango nodded, pushing aside the draped woven curtain that hung down from a frame, (A/N: Equivalent to a door in their time? I don't know…) looking over at Miroku as Kirara jumped from her arms and out onto the grass.

"Go on," Miroku stated as he nodded his head towards Sango, folding his arms across his chest as he watched the girls leave and the curtain fall from behind them. "I need to have a conversation with Inuyasha myself," he said, which the girls' didn't hear for they were already outside.

"I guess I'm all alone now…" Shippo lightly said, cleaning up his crayons off the floor and walking into the other room, coming out a few minutes later holding a nightshirt. "Inuyasha, could you…" he started to say, only before Inuyasha grabbed the shirt. A couple seconds later, Inuyasha was sitting on his knees, motioning for Shippo to take off his shirt. Knowing these guys, it was probably going to be a long night…

~~~

Well, that's the end of chapter 1! I write this at school, then type it up at home so I kinda classify it as my homework ^.^'' I have some plans for this story, but so far I haven't thought up an ending yet. But, for those who think it (I know there has to be some people) is going to turn out Sango/Kagome, Miroku/Inuyasha you're wrong. Really I can classify this as my first Inuyasha fic with more than one chapter, so I'm not going to have any yaoi or yuri. Well, at least not in this fic… But there might be some hintage and cute moments. I already have a cute moment planned out whenever Sango is talking to Kagome… Please review and tell me what you think of it so far! SIDE NOTE: I called this chapter "Introduction" since I couldn't think of a title for it… Whoops.


	2. Going Their Opposite Ways

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha! I only own the story! But wouldn't it be good if I did own the show? Or the manga? Hmm… Anyway, I hope you enjoy! This kinda took me a long time to write. But besides my meaningless rambling, Inuyasha belongs to Rumiko Takahashi.

Note: I named this chapter "Going Their Opposite Ways" because I couldn't think of anything else. This chapter really just fills in about how Inuyasha, Shippo and Miroku react after Kagome, Sango and Kirara leave and just some stuff between Kagome and Sango. Nothing major.

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Only While Human

Chapter Two: Going Their Opposite Ways

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After a frustrated sigh from Inuyasha, Miroku watched as Inuyasha helped remove Shippo's shirt, slipping his nightshirt over the bare kitsune's flesh. Shippo slightly laughed, as if tickled by the threads. Either that, or his bare skin had came in contact with Inuyasha's smooth fingernails which were no longer claws for that night.

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'Well, at least Inuyasha does act nice to some of us while he's in his human stage… Kinda.' Miroku thought.

"Thanks, Inuyasha!" Shippo beamed, tilting his head downwards to look at the nightshirt Kagome had made for him. _'Kagome did a nice job,' _he thought. _'It fits me perfectly! I'll have to thank Kagome whenever she comes back in with Sango.'_ Shippo then yawned, turning on his heel, beginning to walk over to Miroku.

"Shippo, you seem tired. I would imply that you get some rest if you want strength for whatever we will have to face tomorrow or even tonight if something such as a demon or angry villager (A/N: Don't ask.) would appear." Miroku calmly said, looking over at Sango's boomerang that had been placed by his staff (Shakujou.) It had also been by the frame that Shippo had just entered/exited moments ago.

Shippo once again turned on his heel. "But I wanna know what you're going to talk about! I'm just a kid! It's not like I'm gonna know what your talking about anyway!" he protested, his small hands slowly curling into fists. Shippo was nosey all right, and would try anything; think of any excuse, just to hear into a conversation, pretending he had no clue what they were talking about. But unknown to Inuyasha and Miroku, Shippo was much older than he appeared, and unknown to Shippo, he was going to loose the battle.

"Shippo, you're a kid. You said it yourself! And kids need sleep so just go to sleep or something already!" Inuyasha said curtly, standing as he crossed his arms across his chest, getting in a position that seemed like he was ready to chase the kitsune, in which he was.

"Miroku…!"

"He's got a point there," Miroku stated, making Shippo just stand in the middle of the room, his gaze wandering from Miroku to Inuyasha constantly, both confused and sad at the same time.

"Why do you always have to pick on me?!" Shippo screamed, his fingers to his head as he took his own hair in grasp, shaking his head vigorously, obviously both confused and pissed off at the same time. His arms then dropped to the sides after a couple seconds, sighing as he put down his head, staring at the wooden floor. "I'm going to sleep…" he lightly said, walking to the wooden frame that separated the two rooms. As Shippo walked, he muttered under his breath about how he was always left out on conversations, almost giving Inuyasha a well-deserved facefall moment as Shippo didn't even seem to recognize Inuyasha standing in the position he usually does before going into battle, trying to look frightening. But the only thing Inuyasha could do -If he would- was just punch the little twerp, his Tetsaiga was useless as it sat sheathed along the opposite corner of the room. It wasn't until Shippo was completely out of sight that both the monk and hanyou (after falling to the ground on his knees) burst out in laughter.

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~Meanwhile~

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After many minutes of walking, Sango and Kagome remained silent. They hadn't talked to one another since the brief one they had before leaving the boys, if you could even call that 'talking'. It was an awkward silence between the two, only hearing the sounds of nature along with Kirara's soft snores and her exhaling. Sango seemed more calmed down, smiling down at the small neko asleep in her arms, softly stroking the fur behind its ears. 

Kagome, however, was very nervous, continuously glancing around the area, sometimes tightly clutching onto the yellow strap from her backpack that hung on her shoulder. Could it be because Inuyasha wasn't there to protect her? And even if he was there, it wouldn't help or do any good at all, especially since Inuyasha couldn't go into battle while human because of the chance he could be killed and they (Kagome and Sango) had both left their battle weapons behind inside of the hut. Nothing that was in Kagome's bag could protect her. The only thing Sango had to really protect herself was Kirara and the secret blade embedded in the sleeve of her right arm from her demon-slayer outfit.

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'Inuyasha…' Kagome thought to herself, stopping in her tracks as her lips curled into a smile, slightly starting to giggle for no apparent reason.

"Kagome?" Sango asked, stopping and looking back at her friend, who was only a few feet behind her. "What's the matter with you?"

"Nothing!" Kagome let out, placing her hands over her mouth as a cover, trying to shield the laughter from escaping out, although it didn't help that much at all. Sango just shook her head and rolled her eyes, starting to walk forward again.

"Sometimes people just don't grow up," Sango muttered to herself, not looking back at Kagome. Instead, she had been staring at some high grass and vines that lie on the ground in front of her. She had been so busy thinking about what Kagome had wanted to ask her, so busy trying to keep Kirara asleep, she hadn't been looking ahead of her. It was like if the vines and grass had appeared from out of nowhere, like magic. 

Crouching down to reach the vines, she pushed them aside with one hand, for her other hand was still busy, acting as a pillow to the sleeping Kirara. Some tiny thorns stuck out of the vines and they pricked Sango's skin. Although no blood was shed, she flinched just a little from surprise, forgetting about the small pain as a relaxed smile appeared across her face. In front of her, she saw nothing other than a secluded hot spring, with only small patches of grass and trees around it. It gave her a small private feeling that no one else knew where such a luxurious place could be hidden.

A surprised gasp from Kagome followed soon afterwards, now standing beside the demon slayer. "Whoa, I never noticed this earlier when we first arrived, or other words I would've been in here earlier!"

"Me too," Sango agreed, giving a warm smile down at the young woman standing beside her. "Do you think that we would be able to get a dip in?"

"Probably. Shippo should be sleeping by now, or else he would've ran out to come find us if a fight broke out between him and Inuyasha or Miroku."

"Right. And the boys should be heading to sleep after they have their conversation. Well, at least hopefully they would if all goes well."

Kagome nodded, leaning to her left so the heavy yellow backpack fell from her shoulders, landing with a soft 'plop!' on the grass. She then kneeled down onto the grass beside the backpack, taking the zipper in her fingers, and un-zippered the first pocket. Sango looked at her quite strangely whenever Kagome pulled out two large towels, and Kagome noticed the look. "Oh, the towels? I carry them around everywhere; as soon as I clean them and they dry I put them back in my pack. I mean, we never know when we could come across a place to bathe, or to help injured villagers who need to be cleaned up!" she said cheerfully, Sango only nodding her head as a reply as Kirara stirred in her sleep, lifting her head.

"Aw, what's wrong Kirara?" Sango softly said, looking down as she stroked her fingers down Kirara's back, leaning down at the same time and placing Kirara down. Kirara then walked into the little clearing near the spring, laying down at the edge of the water in a patch of grass after circling the area for a couple seconds. Sango and Kagome both followed, Kagome having the towels in her arms as Sango walked over and leaned down beside her cat. "Kirara, go back to sleep. This might take a while, and it would be best if you weren't tired tomorrow morning." Kirara mewed, nuzzling her small face into the grass as Sango kissed its forehead, then standing and turning to Kagome.

Kagome smiled at Sango, tossing her over a towel. They then turned their backs on one another, slowly getting undressed. While Kagome just slipped out of her school uniform, it took a while for Sango since she had to discard both her regular outfit and battle outfit. Afterwards, they both turned towards each other. Having a towel wrapped around them, both girls leaned down and folded their clothes, lying them down beside Kagome's backpack as they smiled at one another, walking towards the spring. Kagome was the first to outstretch her leg, letting the tips of her toes slightly enter the water, pulling them right back out. "Oh, it's a little warmer then what we're used to."

"Ah, that's okay, just as long as we actually get the chance to relax." Sango breathed, taking a deep breath as she let her leg enter the water, then the other, slowly sliding down into the water. She waited until she was in water that came up to her chin before she removed her towel, lifting it over her head and dropping it on the soil behind her. A smile appeared across Sango's face as she sat down on a rock to the right of her, leaning her back against a large rock that stuck out of the water. She closed her eyes as the warm water kissed her skin, giving her a feel of relaxation.

Kagome followed the pattern, only removing her towel slightly before she got in, so it would be easier for her to dry herself off later. She didn't mind if Sango had seen her exposed, for they had seen each other nude a lot of times since she had first joined them on the search for the Shikon no Tama. "Thanks for coming out, Sango."

"No problem, Kagome. Anytime. But why did you need to speak to me in private? I mean, what do you need to tell me?"

Kagome sighed, quickly ducking under the water so it dripped from her hair as she emerged at the surface, Sango giving her a look of confusion. Kagome had to say something, but didn't know how to word it. It was as if she was nervous, like she didn't want to say it at all so was just stalling. Sighing, Kagome turned her back towards Sango, turning around once again after taking a deep breath. "It's about Inuyasha…"

"Ah, that's what I thought it would be. What _do_ you think about Inuyasha, Kagome? It's okay to tell me."

~~~

The end of chapter 2 has arrived! Yay!! But anyway, getting back to focus… What does Miroku wish to speak to Inuyasha about? And what does Kagome have to tell Sango about Inuyasha? Stay tuned for chapter 3!

Inuyasha: Cindy that sounded really corny.

Cindy: Um…Yeah, it did. So? I can be corny if I want to!

Kagome: Yeah, Inuyasha! Don't be so stubborn!

Miroku: Stubborn? That's how he always is…

Inuyasha: You say somethin, monk?!

Miroku: Why, no, not at all! *Big smile*

Shippo: *hides behind Kagome*

Sango: Not this again… Won't you guys ever stop fighting?

Cindy: I'm gonna leave before anything starts up… *Quickly runs off*

Inuyasha: Feh. What's her problem?

Miroku: *Shrugs*

Kagome: Anyway… Who wants some ramen noodles?

Everyone: I do!!

Kagome: *Starts making noodles for everyone, including the nice readers who have read this fic and for Cindy who is still running off!! But where to? Who knows?*


	3. Simple Conversations Part One Miroku and

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha! I only own the story! But wouldn't it be good if I did own the show? Or the manga? Hmm… Anyway, I hope you enjoy! This kinda took me a long time to write. But besides my meaningless rambling, Inuyasha belongs to Rumiko Takahashi.

NOTE: Some parts of this chapter are really stupid… Don't mind them ^.^''

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Only While Human

Chapter Three: Simple Conversations Part One- Miroku and Inuyasha

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Still laughing from what happened with Shippo, both Inuyasha and Miroku were clutching their stomachs in pain. Although they were laughing for a stupid reason, nevertheless they couldn't stop! Bit then it all ended after Miroku started coughing, afterwards clearing his throat.

"Ahem. Inuyasha?" Miroku's voice was still soft, shifting the position in which he was sitting to try and get to an area with no pain, saying his words again a little more louder and clearer.

"Yeah?" Inuyasha said, a couple seconds later speaking again as he looked down at himself then at Miroku. "Damn, we're such idiots sometimes."  
  
"How so?"  
  
"Like now, laughing for really no good reason at all, stupid!"

"Yes, good point. But anyway… as said earlier, I wish to speak with you."

"Speak? Every time you simply 'talk' to someone, Miroku, you end up asking them to bear your children! I'm a man, and there's no freaking way you're going to lead me into your bed or wherever your sleeping tonight!" Inuyasha screamed, sounding like as if he was panicking. His looks might've changed, but his attitude sure didn't. Well, at least I think not ^.^''

Miroku sighed, once again crossing his arms across his chest. _'Why is it that Inuyasha is only nice to Lady Kagome when he's in his human form?' _he thought. "What makes you say that? You should at least know by now that I'm straight, also that my feelings are strongly aiming towards Sango."

"Yeah, whatever," Inuyasha huffed, turning his attention to Miroku, suddenly realizing what he was saying. "Oh, sorry… Don't know what got into me there."

"Wait… You don't have feelings for me, do you?"

"No way in hell, monk!" (A/N: Sorry…I just had to add that in.) "I was just joking."

"Of course. But like I was saying…I wanted to have a conversation with you also."

"Of what?"  


"Oh, I don't know… Battle? World? Weather? Demons? Naraku? Time? Relationships?" Miroku asked, emphasizing the last word (A/N: The last word being 'Relationships'), Inuyasha catching the drift.

"What about relationships?"

"Well, you always seem so confused." Miroku then stood, walking over to Inuyasha and sitting down in front of him. "All of us (meaning him, Sango, Kagome and Shippo) can understand what type of situation you're in. We know your feelings about Kikyo and Kagome."

"You don't know anything…" Inuyasha mumbled under his breath, a frown spreading across his face as he stared down at his feet, knowing that Miroku wouldn't stop until he got the kind of answer he wanted.

"What do you mean, Inuyasha? That we don't know anything? I, for one, think we know plenty enough." Miroku gave his friend a cold glare, to Inuyasha feeling like gazed eyes burning against his bare flesh, giving him a stinging feeling.

"I don't know, okay?!" Inuyasha screamed, throwing his hands down hard onto the wooden floor, making the hut shake in the process as he almost splintered the wooden floor. "Both Kagome and Kikyo are important to me! You know that!" Miroku sighed, he already knew this! Seeing that his friend was getting more madder by the second, Miroku tried to stay calm, thinking of any questions he could ask, or even if he should ask any more questions at all. "And, so you don't ask, I don't know who I like better!"

"Well, Inuyasha, I thank you. You answered my question before I really even had the chance to ask it. You really are a nut job in a predicament."

"W…What the hell?" Inuyasha once again screamed, his black hair falling in front of his eyes as he stood and lunged forward at the monk.

"Oh, God!" Miroku shouted in reply, quickly getting to his feet and dodging Inuyasha who would've hit him if he didn't move, grabbing his staff in the process. "Ghastly! What has gotten into you all of a sudden?"

Although it was useless, Inuyasha turned around and grabbed the handle of the Tetsaiga, letting the blade fall free from its sheath as it fell to the floor. Grunting, he turned on his heel and once again sprang at Miroku, who was whirling his staff around in small circles, making an almost invisible barrier around himself. But unlike the one he had made for himself and Inuyasha with Gatenmaru, this barrier was different. Unknown to Inuyasha, this barrier's walls were made of energy and shockwaves.

"I wouldn't be talking, Inuyasha!" Miroku screamed, jumping backwards along with his completed barrier, only looking like a bubble surrounding him. "At least I'm positive on who I want in my life, not like you who only causes confusion!" Those words angered Inuyasha. He growled in frustration as his grip tightened over the Tetsaiga's handle, once again leaping at Miroku who just stood still, showing no hint of moving at any time.

A cry of both pain and shock emerged from Inuyasha's mouth as he forced the un-transformed blade of the Tetsaiga down hard onto the barrier, possibly thinking there was a chance that he could break it. Miroku stood in awe for why his friend had done something so stupid, not even a millisecond later the room lighted up and energy sparks flew from the barrier's wall, cracking like lightning in a thunderstorm. Pain took over inside Inuyasha, once again screaming as he squeezed his eyes tightly shut, energy sparks collected around him, forming his own little bubble around him. Seconds later the bubble threw itself against the wall, knocking off splinters of the wooden walls. "You try to get with every woman you meet, bastard! God, you don't know how hard it hurts people! Take Sango, for example… She doesn't even know how to act around you anymore! She's afraid you're going to do something stupid! At least I only have to choose between either Kikyo or Kagome!"

The walls once again shook, the ceiling acting as like it was about to cave in. A hard piece of wood fell from the ceiling in the other room, landing on the sleeping Shippo's head. Obviously this was all that Shippo knew about anything at the moment, for he was up in less than a second, tears escaping the corners of his eyes as he rubbed the small bump appearing on his head. "Owww…" he said, suddenly noticing that the hut had been in a more poorer condition than before, with splinters of the wood knocked off from almost every wall, not even noticing at the time the feud going on between Inuyasha and Miroku in the other room. "Inuyasha, Miroku!" Shippo screamed as he stood and ran into the other room, just barely missing an attack launched by Inuyasha who was standing with his feet planted in the ground, trying to keep his balance.

"Keep out of this, Shippo! For your own safety!" Miroku called out to Shippo, once again dodging Inuyasha, glad that he was only human for the night or by now he might've been dead.

Shippo only nodded, screaming once more as he put his hands atop of his head to shield the falling pieces of the wood, running out of the hut. "Sango, Kagome!" Shippo screamed as he got outside and ran down the stairs that lead to the grass, looking around. Shippo frowned as he heard no reply from either Sango nor Kagome, he only saw grass and trees. "I have to go find them!" And with that Shippo took a deep breath, running into the woods, not sure where he was going. _'Kagome, Sango… Where are you two?'_

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Yay! After about a week, I finally finished chapter 3! Lol, I kept on getting writers block! But, hey, we all get it sometimes! This was my first time writing a battle scene, and it was a little challenging picking attacks since for the night Miroku would actually be more stronger than Inuyasha. And I had to remember that this was taking place inside of a 2-room small hut -although it seems to keep on getting bigger and bigger-, so it was quite complicated. I'm not sure if I'm pleased with this chapter or not… It all depends on what you guys think!


	4. Simple Conversations Part One Sango and

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha! I only own the story! But wouldn't it be good if I did own the show? Or the manga? Hmm… Anyway, I hope you enjoy! This kinda took me a long time to write. But besides my meaningless rambling, Inuyasha belongs to Rumiko Takahashi.

NOTE: This part may be a little of yuri hintage, but it's not! And please keep in mind that this is happening at the same time as chapter 3 is happening except for the ending with Shippo, that sort of tags on to the end of chapter 3.

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Only While Human

Chapter Four: Simple Conversations Part Two- Sango and Kagome

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"Tell me, Kagome," Sango asked once again, pushing her hair out of her face to behind her back, having some difficulty with the wet hair since it was more heavier. "What are your exact thoughts about Inuyasha? Is that what you needed to talk about?"

Kagome's face became hot, an unseen blush spreading across her face as she slowly nodded. Sango once again sighed, she was getting both tired of this and annoyed. Inuyasha was the reason she called out Sango in the first place, but now all she was doing was stalling! Kagome wasn't nervous, she just didn't know how to say what she wanted and needed to say.

Not knowing what else she could do, Sango stood up and stepped forward towards Kagome. At the time, Kagome had her back turned toward Sango. And since the water still only came up to Sango's neck, it almost looked like a creature stalking its prey, although it was nothing of the sort. A gentle, warm smile came across Sango's face as she was now directly behind Kagome, a hand reaching up, fingers almost tracing up Kagome's spine.

A surprised gasp came from Kagome as she tilted her head sideways and down, looking at Sango's hand which had been now been perched upon her shoulder. "Sango, I…" she started to say before getting cut off.

"Ah, there now. At least we know that you can talk." Sango said, trying to lighten the mood and ease the tense filled area around them. "I understand. You're confused, just like I am right now. Really tell me, Kagome, what you need to tell me." Sango's voice was soft and calm like always as she spoke. She desperately wanted to know what was wrong with her best friend, what it could be that was bugging her so much. As Kagome took a deep breath to once again try to speak, Sango's hand didn't leave her shoulder.

"Inuyasha… While he's human, I really do worry about him. I mean, I always want to be by his side. And you know what happens in battle; he almost never refuses to just walk away. I'm afraid, Sango," Kagome said in a soft voice, almost like a whisper. "I'm afraid I'm going to loose him. He's always on my mind, I never stop thinking about him for not even a second, and I don't want him to die…" Kagome then stopped talking as it became hard to talk. Tears burned in the corners of her eyes. She had the strongest urge, felt the need to just let the tears fall and sob, although she forced herself not to. She then stood and got out of the water, grabbing her towel in the process as she covered herself. 

Sango just stood where she was, watching Kagome's every more. Frowning, she followed suit as she climbed out of the spring, grabbing her towel and wrapped it around her. Sango's towel was still a little damp from it briefly being in the water. By the time Sango had fully wrapped the towel around her, Kagome had already been sitting down again on another rock near the waters' edge. Her head was tilted upwards, looking up at the night sky, lost in thought until Sango's voice broke in. She had let Kagome have the rock all to herself while Sango was sitting on the grass, which she didn't have a problem with, still pretty amazed that Kirara had not yet been awakened from the sounds they had been making.

"We all worry about him, Kagome. He's an important person in all of our lives, but you care about him the most. And the reason he almost never refuses to fight or back out of a battle is because he wants to protect you. Just like you don't want to see him hurt, he doesn't want to see you hurt either." Sango then smiled to herself and nodded. "In a weird way, this kind of reminds me about how I feel towards Houshi-Sama (Miroku.) But besides him dying in battle or by his own wind tunnel (Kazanna), I'm afraid that someone besides me will someday agree to bear his children when I'm not ready."

"Yes, I guess it all makes sense. But… Sango?" Kagome said slowly, a hint of questioning in her voice. She continued when she saw that Sango was staring up at her, interested. "Your true feelings on Miroku, what are they?" she softly giggled when Sango's face turned a dark red in color.

"Truthfully, I'm really not sure. They… Change. In fact, they change quite constantly."

"Change?"

"Yes, change." Sango continued on, "I mean, sometimes Miroku can be the best guy around, but sometimes you just want to kill him for his treacherous/lecherous/perverted ways!" both girls then laughed, a soft echo being heard from the wooded areas around them. "But really, he's a good guy." She gave her friend a smile, seeing Kagome's head nod in agreement.

"And he's good in battle!"

"Yes, I'm quite fond of his battle skills myself. It somehow reminds me of whenever he made that barrier for himself and Inuyasha with his staff; the barrier that protected them from the moth-demon Gatenmaru's poison cocoon. It almost proves that Miroku really would do almost anything for his friends while they're in danger."

"Or for the money! No, even better yet, the women! That bastard has the tendency to just jump on a girl, or married woman, after asking them to bear his children! I can't believe him sometimes!"

Sango laughed, nodding her head. She couldn't help but laugh while Kagome literally spoke the truth. In face, Kagome was still blabbing on and on about how awful he could be sometimes. _'Why did I even say a thing?' _she asked herself. "Say, Kagome," she once again interrupted.

"Stupid letch, he'd jump into bed or run away with any… yes?" Kagome's face was now flustered, clutching the towel that was still tightly wrapped around her.

"Do you think we should head back now? We've been out here for quite a while, the boys should probably be asleep by now. Either that or you'll soon hear trees being torn down and fast approaching footsteps by them searching for us."

Kagome nodded, no longer opening her mouth to speak of Miroku. She had this weird feeling inside, like if she knew that her words were possibly hurting Sango. Of course Sango had feelings for Miroku although she would rather not admit it. But did Sango have this much pain locked up inside of her because of his ways? So much to actually stop her friend in the rare process of insulting him? "Yes, I think that would be a good idea, I'm getting tired anyways."

The girls slowly stood and walked over to where Kagome had her book bag, picked up their clothes, and once again turned their backs towards each other, letting the towels fall off the bodies onto the soft-soiled ground as they got changed. 

A few minutes later they were both dressed in their normal outfits. Kagome in her white and green schoolgirl outfit, Sango wearing her pink and white kimono and green skirt, although she was not wearing her demon-slayer outfit underneath. It just usually made her overheat anyways, and it's not like she would need it at all for the rest of the night. Whenever Sango and Kagome had turned around to face each other, Sango had Kirara in her arms. Kagome was having a little struggle getting her large heavy yellow backpack over her shoulders, but she managed. Taking one last look at the spring, they walked out of the wooded area, pushing the vines back that covered the area from the outside.

It was about a 10 minute or so walk back to the hut where Miroku, Inuyasha and Shippo were. Sango and Kagome had small conversations, but nothing that major. After a few minutes of silence, Kagome really looked beside her at Sango. They had came a long way together since they first met. When she first met Sango, everyone thought of her as an enemy since she first attacked Inuyasha, then went behind his back and stole the Tetsaiga from him while he was sleeping to offer it to Naraku, thinking that she would get her little brother back. And now that Kagome knew that under Sango's rough exterior was a real brain. Also a real heart, and some incredible battle techniques. She then stepped forward, embracing both Sango and the once again sleeping Kirara, a small mew emitting from the cat.

This time it was Sango's turn to gasp in surprise, not really quite sure what the hug was for. A thank you hug, or a hug that meant something else? Using her free arm to hug Kagome back, a warm smile came across her face. "Thank you, Kagome."

"No, Sango, thank you. I would've never came out here and realized my true thoughts of Inuyasha --and your true feelings about Miroku-- if it wasn't for you." Kagome said in a low whisper.

The two stood hugging for a while until it soon became just awkward. They then faced forward again as their embrace broke, smiling as they saw the hut in the distance not far away, not sure if they should start talking again. Both walking forward rather slowly, the smiles on their faces were quickly wiped off as a screaming and crying Shippo ran up to them, at the same time happy that he had finally found them.

"Kagome! Sango!" Shippo screamed, jumping up into Kagome's arms, clutching onto her tightly.

"Shippo, what's wrong?" Sango asked the kitsune, moving closer to Kagome so she could look into the small fox tyke's eyes.

"Inuyasha and Miroku, they've gotten into a fight!"

"A fight?" Kagome repeated, turning her head to Sango. "We should've known this was going to happen." with a nod from Sango, Shippo jumped out of Kagome's arms and started running back towards the hut, motioning for the girls to follow. They did, and both of them gasped in surprise as they saw the hut was shaking, looking like it was about to crash down to the ground.

~~~~

Yay! Cliffhanger! I'm sorry if this chapter made anyone think it was going to be yuri… I noticed that when I got done with it, but really if you think about the hot spring scene, that would stick to their characters. Sorry if this chapter got a little confusing at times, I would just have an idea and take out my notebook and write it down… Or if I was in the middle of class, just doodle some notes down on my folder so I wouldn't forget.


	5. Reunited But It's Anything But Good

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha! I only own the story! But wouldn't it be good if I did own the show? Or the manga? Hmm… Anyway, I hope you enjoy! This kinda took me a long time to write. But besides my meaningless rambling, Inuyasha belongs to Rumiko Takahashi.

NOTE: Enjoy! Sorry this chapter is so short!

~~~~

Only While Human

Chapter Five: Reunited and It's Anything But Good

***********

Still outside, the girls, along with Shippo and Kirara, approached the hut more quickly as their pace quickened. Kirara jumped out of Sango's arms and started running up the stairs to the hut, still in her regular (small) form. Shippo followed suit, jumping out of Kagome's arms to follow Kirara. They weren't that far away until they heard Miroku.

"So what, Inuyasha!" Miroku screamed, his voice having hints of anger. "I admit, I've had over my fair share of women, but I've never slept with anyone! As I have told you before, I have true feelings for Sango and Sango only!"

"What?" Sango asked from outside, her voice in a low whisper. It wasn't hard to tell that she was embarrassed, for Sango's face was covered in a very deep red blush and her face was hot.

Kagome laughed, looking up at her friend. "Well, look at it this way Sango. At least it seems like he's returning feelings?"

"Yes, maybe so. Or he could just be lying again."

The girls were now standing directly in front of the door that they had just departed from almost two hours ago. They could hear the boys yelling at each other; the sounds of screams as one of them were inflected with pain, and the unsteady creaking of the wooden hut in which they were in.

"Inuyasha, stop!" Kagome screamed as she ran into the room, Sango yelling after her to be careful. Inuyasha didn't hear her, however, for his back was turned away from her so that he could face Miroku who was cornered up against the wall since his barrier had materialized.

"I already told you, monk. Both Kikyo and Kagome are important to me! I used to love Kikyo with all my heart, we trusted one another, but then we were just both staged making it seem like we had betrayed one another by that freakin asshole Naraku! I know that Kikyo hates me now; she's going to die again trying to kill me. Whenever I'm with her, I speak the truth; I'm not going to let Naraku have her either, I still love her. But this… This is for Kagome!" Inuyasha screamed as he threw down the -still- untransformed blade of the Tetsaiga down, fortunately missing Miroku as he rolled away from him at the last second.

"Wow," Shippo plainly said, just standing there blinking. "All that talk for nothing."

Kagome nodded her head in disagreement. Besides Sango, Inuyasha and Miroku were her two best friends. She couldn't stand to see them fighting like this! "Inuyasha!" she screamed again, finally making her appearance known to the boys.

"Lady Kagome!" Miroku screamed as he noted her appearance.

"Ka…Kagome?" Inuyasha asked, turning around. _'Shit…' _he thought. _'She's gonna be pissed off again after what I said about Kikyo!'_

"Stop it, stop it now you guys!" Kagome yelled as she stomped forward, fists clenched at her sides, trying her hardest not to cry. She needed no explanation, as countless times before she walked in on Inuyasha while he was speaking of Kikyo, who (as of right now) he should feel pain in his heart about her.

"Kagome, no!" Sango told her friend as she rushed in beside her, holding her back. "Inuyasha-- he's not worth fighting over! Save your energy!"

"What do you mean, 'not worth fighting over'? At least I don't cry because of that lecherous monk every night like you do, Sango!"

"What…?" Miroku asked, both curious and confused at the same time. He then looked over at Sango, who also looked like she was about to cry.

"Why, Inuyasha? Why do you always have to speak so negative all the time?" Sango asked.

"Feh," Inuyasha smirked, looking away from everyone. "That's just how I am. Get used to it."

Suddenly, a piece of already splintered wood snapped, too quiet to hear. A couple seconds later, more wood started cracking, soon doubling in sound as the hut started to shake, walls going outward as the roof began to sink inwards.

Kirara mewed as she quickly ran over to Shippo, taking the bottom of his nightshirt in her mouth and quickly turning around as she was trying to get Shippo out of the hut, making him fall face first in the process.

"Kirara! What was that for?" Shippo asked as he was dragged out of the hut, down the steps, and out onto the grass. He obviously didn't know that the hut was soon going to collapse.

"The hut, it's going to collapse!" Miroku screamed as he stood, finally realizing the situation that they were in. "Everybody, we must leave this area! Quickly!" It was with those words that the walls gave out, slowly collapsing.

~~~~

Is this suspense? Lol, *shrugs* I'm trying! Sorry if this chapter was confusing, I really didn't know how to write it… Anyway, please reply and tell me what you think and I should be back with chapter six next week! Until then, take care!


	6. The Unsung Saviors

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha! I only own the story! But wouldn't it be good if I did own the show? Or the manga? Hmm… Anyway, I hope you enjoy! This kinda took me a long time to write. But besides my meaningless rambling, Inuyasha belongs to Rumiko Takahashi.

NOTE: Enjoy! Sorry if this gets confusing and sorry this chapter is a little shorter than the others!

~~~~

Only While Human

Chapter Six: The Unsung Saviors

***********

Back at the hut, walls began to fall in every direction. Shippo, Kirara and Miroku had all gotten out onto the grass safely while Sango, Kagome and Inuyasha were still stuck inside. Sango and Inuyasha were fine, but Kagome was just frozen in place, almost like if she was in shock or something.

"Kagome!" Inuyasha screamed as a piece of wood fell from the ceiling, landing and splitting in half after landing on Inuyasha's head since he had ran in front of her and shielded her, his head slowly starting to bleed. "Sango, you head on out. I'll take care of Kagome, we should be out shortly."

Giving only a silent nod as a reply, Sango quickly walked out of the hut and started down the small row of steps, her foot getting caught on something as she fell forward, landing in Miroku's arms as he arrived at the last second. "Thank you, Houshi-Sama…" Sango softly said, looking up at Miroku as she smiled. Miroku smiled back, not knowing he was subconsciously groping her. Sango was then quickly thrown to the ground, accidentally dropped by Miroku when she slapped him. "Jeez, Miroku! Will you ever change?" Sango screamed. Miroku just shrugged his shoulders.

***********

MEANWHILE…

***********

"C'mon, Kagome!" Inuyasha said, now beside her as she still stood still. "You have to move!"

"Inu… Inuyasha…" Kagome softly said, looking up at him, her eyes soft and wide as tears rolled down her face. "Inuyasha," she repeated. "Why? Why must you talk about Kikyo?"

"Wha…?! Kagome, there's no need of that now! Let's… go!" Inuyasha grunted as he grabbed her arm. As of right now, Inuyasha was worried about Kagome, how she suddenly just changed. Since she was still like dead weight, he quickly picked her up into his arms and started towards the entrance/exit, hugging her close for protection as more wood fell from the ceiling. _'I don't know what suddenly got into Kagome, but I don't like it!' _he thought.

***********

Finally out of what was left of the hut, everyone was at a safe distance as it finally caved in completely and collapsed. Everyone was sad and disappointed; sad because they had left all their belongings and possessions, along with their battle weapons, inside and weren't thinking at the time and disappointed because it wasn't even their hut in the first place and now it was gone forever, destroyed.

Kagome, who was still in Inuyasha's arms, had one of her hands clutched tightly on the rosary that hung around Inuyasha's neck. In his mind, he could still hear her words, those words now haunting him, hurting him. _"Why? Why must you talk about Kikyo?" _he shook his head, trying to get those words out of his head. He knew he should've been more careful picking his words! For the past couple days, Kagome has just been acting differently at just the slightest mention of Kikyo for some unknown reason.

As the dust disappeared into the air, everyone saw the mass layers of debris piled onto the grass. They hoped the original owners of the hut, whom they didn't know, don't know they had tried to reside there for the night only to miserably fail.

"That hut was built strong," Sango started. "But I guess not strong enough to hold a battle inside. I mean, if you think about it, there _are_ no houses/huts/buildings or temples in this era that are made to fight in!" she glared at Miroku harshly.

Miroku saw Sango stare at him and he apologized, looking over at Inuyasha who was kneeling down, carefully laying Kagome down onto the soft grass. She was still quite out of it, and he didn't want her condition to get any worse. "We are forever sorry, aren't we Inuyasha?"

"What? Oh, uh… Yeah, sure." were the words that came out of Inuyasha's mouth, but he obviously wasn't paying the slightest tad bit of attention. Smiling down at Kagome, he used one hand to push away some hair out of Kagome's face. Miroku and Sango smiled at one another as they both saw the movement, and it seemed like Kagome was actually smiling. His hand then slightly moved downwards, cupping her cheek as he looked down at her one more time, then using his other hand to help stand up. Now pushing black hair out of his own face, Inuyasha's face became hot as he saw both Miroku and Sango staring at him with knowing glares. "What?" he asked. "Jeez, what'd I do?"

"We think you know," Miroku spoke, his voice soft and calm as he looked over to Kagome.

"Well, I'm sure that I don't know!" Inuyasha screamed curtly, his face becoming a dark shade of red. Truthfully, he knew exactly what they were talking about. They wanted to ask him about Kagome!

Sango smiled, folding her arms across her chest. _'If only Kagome was awake,' _she thought. _'Then she would be able to see that Inuyasha really does have feelings for her.'_

In the meanwhile, Shippo sighed as he shut his eyes and looked down at the ground. "Not this again. This was how Inuyasha and Miroku's fight started in the first place! All over… Owwwww!" Shippo screamed and almost burst into tears. "What was that for?! That hurt…!" he then ran away before Inuyasha had the chance to punch him atop of the head again, saving his head from any more unwanted lumps.

"That's how your fight was started? Over Kagome?" Sango asked, curious.

"Not exactly," Miroku answered, only to get a questioned look from Sango. "It's a bit more complicated than that."

Sango nodded, really not wanting to know the true reason.

"C'mon, Miroku," Inuyasha said as he walked away from Kagome, looking back out at the destroyed hut. "We need to just go back and try to find our weapons and some supplies, it won't take long."

"Can I come along?" Sango asked, looking over at Miroku as he shook his head slowly in disagreement as he spoke for Inuyasha.

"No, Sango. You should stay here and watch Lady Kagome, to see if she gets any better."

"Right. I'll do that." Sango then went where Inuyasha once was, sitting down cross-legged beside Kagome.

"Thanks, Sango…" Inuyasha quietly mumbled under his breath, to low to hear as him and Miroku started walking down towards the hut again.

"No problem, Inuyasha!" Sango called out, causing Miroku to burst out in laughter as Inuyasha stopped walking, his face turning red in embarrassment. But, in order to cover up his embarrassment, he started running towards the debris.

"Hmpf, what do they know?" Inuyasha harshly stated, jumping and landing a few feed away from the remains of the hut.

Miroku looked up at Sango, feeling relieved to see her smiling. _'What can ya do?' _he thought.

~~~~~

Yay! End of chapter six! Only one more chapter to go, and since I don't know what else to say… See ya soon! Great, now I sound like Kagome at the end of the previews for the next episode… PS: I might put the next chapter up two weeks from now! Please read and review, I worked really hard on my stories but it seems like no one reads them!


	7. Ending A Loving Memory

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha! I only own the story! But wouldn't it be good if I did own the show? Or the manga? Hmm… Anyway, I hope you enjoy! This kinda took me a long time to write. But besides my meaningless rambling, Inuyasha belongs to Rumiko Takahashi.

NOTE: Enjoy! Sorry if this gets confusing! This is the last chapter, and I hope you enjoy it! I know this really confused some of you being that it seemed like a lot of time had passed, but sometimes the moon does come out quite early… And then the sun comes up about mid-morning. I'll say this entire story took place somewhere from 10:00 at night to about 2 in the morning.

**__**

Another note: I apologize for the long size, I started and I couldn't stop writing!

Only While Human

Chapter Seven: Ending/A Loving Memory

Now standing in front of the debris, Miroku and Inuyasha were walking up what was left of the hut's steps, pushing aside wooden boards in search of finding anything of their values.

Inuyasha smiled to himself as he saw a yellow object in the corner of his eye. The object had been piled under some rubble. Turning, he pushed aside some boards, reaching for a strap that came off of the item. "It… It's Kagome's book bag," he said softly as he held it up and examined it closely, almost falling over from the weight. Thankfully Kagome's arrows were latched onto her book bag, making them one less thing to search for. Besides from being dusty, the large yellow book bag was torn in many places, some pockets hanging open. Thinking he'd better let Kagome sort through the items herself, Inuyasha heaved the backpack over his shoulder as he turned to Miroku, who seemed off in a daze.

"…All of Sango's hard work, now it's all destroyed," Miroku said barely above a whisper, staring at Sangos boomerang. Like Kagome's book bag, Sango's boomerang was covered in patches of dirt, not even looking like it had just been polished. It was also cracked in half, along with being dented in many places. "Inuyasha, help me carry this outside." Inuyasha nodded.

After a couple minutes of trying, the boys were finally able to pick up the two large heavy halves of the boomerang and drag them outside. Wiping sweat from their brows, Inuyasha also leaned over to his right and dropped Kagome's bag off. Looking upwards, they could see that Sango had been having a conversation with the -now awake- Kagome. As the girls started laughing, Inuyasha and Miroku smiled at one another before going back into the rubble.

Searching, Miroku grew confused as he couldn't seem to find anything. "Hey, what are we still looking for?" he asked.

"Well," Inuyasha started. "we still have to find my Tetsaiga, along with your staff. And, if we're lucky, we might be able to find Shippo's paper and all that other little shit he uses."

"What about our fragment pieces of the Shikon no Tama?"

"I'm pretty sure Kagome has them, when I was laying her down in the grass outside earlier I saw her necklace of the jewel she has."

"Really?" Kagome asked, sitting up and leaning against a rock. "Inuyasha actually carried me out here and laid me down?"

"Yep. It was really sweet, if only you were awake to see it! Miroku and me were suspicious that he was going to kiss you or something. And whenever we simply asked him to talk about it, he just ran off with his face red with embarrassment!"

Kagome smiled to herself, looking down as her own face became hot and changed color. She then softly took her fragments on her Shikon no Tama necklace in between her index finger and thumb, lightly rubbing over the half-completed sphere. "I would've never been able to get this far or to do so many things if it wasn't for him…"

Suddenly, Shippo stood and walked over to the girls, Kirara looking up at Shippo but only mewing before she put her head back down. "Yeah, Kagome!" he said. "Inuyasha really is in love with you, it doesn't take a really smart person to figure that out."

Kagome laughed, petting the kitsune on the head. "Thanks Shippo. And I know that Inuyasha has feelings for me, I'm just worried still about…"

"Kikyo?" Sango finished for her. "Of course you're worried about Kikyo. You know Inuyasha's true feelings for her but not for you… And that worries you, correct? You're afraid that in the end he will choose Kikyo over you and go to hell with her?"

"Gee, Sango. Thanks for putting it nicely," Kagome said, sarcastically.

"Sango!" Shippo hissed, jumping and lightly hitting her in the back of the head with his right hand. "Don't talk about her!"

"It's okay, Shippo. I don't mind talking about Kikyo, although it does give me a little amount of pain in my chest, like if she's clutching my heart or something."

"Well, you two do share the same soul…" Sango stated, picking Kirara up into her arms.

"Yes, I know that. But it still doesn't make any sense to me why I'm so uncomfortable around her."

"It's because of Inuyasha, Kagome!" Shippo screamed, jumping onto Kagome's head. "It's just like Sango already said!"

"No," Kagome whispered under her breath, almost literally smacking Shippo into the ground as she tried 'gently' to put him back on the ground. "Inuyasha can't pick Kikyo… he wouldn't."

Sango simply blinked as Kagome seemed to send out a thread, Shippo hiding behind Sango.

Minutes later…

The boys came back, both of them practically exhausted from bringing up the two halves of Sango's boomerang up the hill.

"Kagome!" Inuyasha shouted, happy that she really was back to her normal self. And although he was already out of breath, he ran over to Kagome and dropped down to his knees, pulling her in a tight embrace.

Miroku smiled over to Sango as he saw Inuyasha's arms go around Kagome, only to sigh as Sango wasn't even looking in his direction. She was too busy petting Kirara and looking at Kagome and Inuyasha. _'If only I could be treated like that…'_ she thought.

"Inu… Inuyasha?" Kagome slowly spoke, happy and confused at the same time. _'Did he think I'm this weak or something? Jeez, I wouldn't die this easy!' _forcing back a 'Sit,' Kagome took a deep breath as she returned him embrace, wrapping her arms around him. "Inuyasha," she repeated again. "What's the matter? Did you find everything?"

"I was…worried." Inuyasha whispered, leaving Kagome's face flustered as she looked over to Miroku.

"We've found your book bag along with your bow and arrows and Sango's boomerang which had been split in half. We are going to head back in the daytime to find my staff, Inuyasha's Tetsaiga and sheath, and possibly Shippo's items."

Kagome nodded, breaking her and Inuyasha's embrace as she quickly stood, running over to her large yellow book bag, rummaging through what was left of the pockets, pulling out her pajamas. Smiling, she looked at Sango quickly before running ducking behind some bushes after passing a sleeping Shippo and Kirara, going to change.

Miroku finally laid down on his stomach in the grass, propping up his head by putting his elbows onto the soft soil and resting his chin on the backs of his palms. He looked over to Sango, then to Inuyasha. "So…" he started, voice smooth. "Inuyasha, you love her, don't you?" seeing a confused look upon Inuyasha's face, Miroku laughed. "Kagome… You love her, right?"

"What?!" gasped a surprised Inuyasha, almost panicking as he heard the word 'love.' Miroku then gave him a stern look, not moving from his spot in the grass. "Fine, I really like Kagome, okay?" Inuyasha said simply, just coming out as an understandable mumble.

"Really like her?" Sango asked. "How much is 'really?' We'd _really _like to know, though!"

"You really want to hear it, dontcha? You want me to say it aloud!" Inuyasha screamed, fists clenching at his sides.

"Yes!" Miroku and Sango shouted in unison.

"Fine! I…"

"I'm back!" Kagome called out, announcing her arrival as she smiled at Sango and Miroku, running up to Inuyasha. She had on her yellow tank top with spaghetti straps that had a cat face on it, much like her own cat Buyo, with the word 'S.H.A.M.' on it, along with light blue pajama pants with the word 'Meow' written all over them, sizes and colors different for each one. "What's up?"

"Kagome! I… well, um… nothing, I guess." Inuyasha said quickly, his voice shaky.

With a questioned look on her face, Kagome sighed as she rummaged through her book bag once again, pulling out a flashlight, afterwards plopping down on the grass beside Miroku. "It's so dark here, I could hardly see earlier."

"Then… We should probably go and get some rest, it's only a few hours till the sun comes up," Sango said, looking over at Miroku, trying to hint to let Kagome and Inuyasha alone,

"Yes," Miroku started as he rolled over onto his back and stood up. Ignoring the weird looks he was getting from rolling over, he folded his arms across his chest and into the sleeves of his robe. "But where should we set up camp? If I'm correct we don't have anything because they were all left in that collapsing."

"I have some pillows, towels and blankets in my backpack but that's all," Kagome spoke up, frowning. But before she could get an answer, Miroku was already walking away into a wooded area, a sleeping Shippo in his arms.

"No you guys, stay here!" Inuyasha called out, coming from behind to Miroku and pulling the back of his robes, almost making him fall back in the process.

Sango looked over to Kagome, she seemed okay with the idea, as she was in her book bag pulling out some blankets and putting them down on the grass. Sango shrugged as she walked over to Kagome, giving her a helping hand.

Miroku set down Shippo on one of the smaller blankets, sitting down on another blanket close by, leaving his back against a fallen tree trunk. Sango sat beside him, while across from them Kagome and Inuyasha sat down. "Goodnight everyone," Miroku said lightly as he laid down, closing his eyes. "I still want to catch some sleep. I don't want to be tired later on."

Everyone wished Miroku a good rest, as well as Sango as she laid down second, followed by Kagome. Inuyasha, however, was still awake, staring down at Kagome and, from time to time, cautiously glancing around the area.

About half an hour later, Kagome awoke with a gasp, almost screaming as she saw Inuyasha staring at her.

"Kagome!" Inuyasha yelled in both surprise and fear, for it had been so sudden and he didn't like the tone of her voice. What was happening now, it reminded Inuyasha of earlier she couldn't move. "Wha… What's the matter? What happened? You okay?"

"Inuyasha…" Kagome said lightly, sobbing. "I just had… another nightmare. Sob It was exactly like the one I had gotten from Sniff N… Naraku's Illusionary Death spell."

"Exactly like Naraku's… What happened, Kagome?" Inuyasha said, his voice firm, although he was quite curious since he had thought that Kagome was never affected by the Illusionary Death spell. Kagome had only been about ten feet away from him, and it was then that Inuyasha moved slightly over, motioning for Kagome to sit beside him.

Nodding, Kagome crawled over beside Inuyasha, hugging her knees after she had gotten beside him. "You and Kikyo… You two were kissing, you were in love with each other… And no matter sob how many times I tried to get your attention, Sniff you would just ignore me!" Kagome's eyes were getting red from crying, and she just couldn't stop the tears from falling.

Inuyasha gasped. _'So this is what she was all worked up about back then…' _he thought, slightly chucking a bit afterwards at his own stupidity, kicking himself inside for not doing anything back then. Kagome looked up at him in confusion, and he just shook his head as he hugged Kagome close, for both comfort and protection. He knew that Kagome needed to know something important. "Do you really think Kikyo could ever find herself back into that special place in my heart? That damn woman sealed me to that sacred tree over fifty years ago, and she still hates me for slaying her, hates me for doing something I never did. Feh, and she refuses to take any liking to me although she knows it was all Naraku's fault we betrayed and staged one another! She'll continue her hatred for me until either I die or she leaves this world once and for all, and I've finally moved away from her. I'm trying to get it through to myself that I'm fine with her hating me. I'm sure you knew what my childhood was like from Myouga telling you, it was horrible. I was always left alone because people were afraid of me, and on my 'weak' nights I just hid in a village for a night since that was the only time I blended in anywhere, the rest of my life making it on my own. But then… After I met Kikyo, I did end up falling in love with her. But, after the twist of events on what you're aware of, I now feel no attraction for her now, none at all… She no longer resides in that special place of my heart now… You do." Inuyasha said, really not believing he was letting everything spill so easily. He smiled down at Kagome who was in his arms, brushing away some hair out of her face again as he kissed her forehead.

"W…What?"

"I've already said it before, Kagome. Kikyo and me had little trust between each other, although I thought it was strong at the time. But now, I'm dealing with it. I know you don't like to talk about Kikyo, especially like this. But…" Inuyasha was cut off as Kagome finished his sentence, changing it to make her own.

"But, you have to decide whether or not you want her in your life, Inuyasha." Inuyasha gasped as her words sunk in, knowing what was the best thing to do. "Every single time you hear her name you practically start moping around then get all belligerent going around looking for her! I don't like it whenever you two go off and have those meetings because when you're alone she practically seduces you! And, one day, she's going to end up killing you after you agree to go to hell with her!"

Sango and Miroku, still awake, didn't want to blow their cover as they kept quiet, although they were hearing everything, both frowning. (A/N: Sango and Miroku weren't laying that far apart from each other, they had been sharing a blanket since Kagome only had two besides the small ones that everyone sat on. They had been facing each other, and literally had small conversations from time to time, but not that often.)

Since Kagome had started talking, Inuyasha had looked away. Kagome, a little pissed off, grabbed one of his black strands of hair, forcing him to look at her. She had a little difficulty since she was still in his lap, but it still worked all the same. Looking into his eyes, she saw that Inuyasha was in deep thought, considering what he should do. "None of us like you being a two-timer, especially if you're the one who wanted me to stay! You're exactly like Miroku sometimes!"

Sango tried her hardest not to burst out laughing, she couldn't agree with Kagome more! Miroku, however, had to try his hardest not to scream out in anger. Instead he had grabbed Sango's hand and squeezed it hard. Sango slightly squinted for a second, then let Miroku continue to hold her hand after he was done squeezing. _'at least this is better than other things he does…' _Sango thought.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome screamed.

"I'm thinking!" he snapped back. Kagome could tell he was still in deep thought from the look in his eyes. After many minutes, Kagome gasped in surprise once again as Inuyasha embraced her tightly. "Why should I be in love with someone who's not even alive?" Inuyasha asked himself. "It's pointless, especially if the love is just one-sided, the other person just wanting to see you dead after displaying false emotions. I want to be with you, Kagome. You and only you."

Eyes wide, Kagome giggled as Inuyasha kissed her softly, still amazed by everything he had said. She returned his kiss, Inuyasha breaking it after a few seconds. Kagome was surprised as she felt Inuyasha pick her up and sit her on the ground as he stood up, walking to the opposite side of their resting place. Leaning down, Inuyasha yanked the blanket off Sango and Miroku, laughing as he saw their linked hands. "Surprise!" he yelled. "I knew you two were spying on us by pretending to be asleep the entire time!"

Sango's face became a dark shade of red, trying her hardest to yank her hand away from Miroku's, only to fail in the attempt.

"Ah, so you really are the sly one," Miroku breathed.

"Who cares about being sly? At the moment I may not have my good ears or nose, but you can always sense when someone is watching you. And, why are you so surprised _now_? We've seen you two spying on us lots of times!" Inuyasha said, folding his arms across his chest, smiling as he saw Kagome stand and walk beside him.

"You've… Seen us?" Sango asked, sitting up.

"Yes, we have, Sango." Kagome started, finishing off with a laugh. "We've seen you and Miroku spying on us a lot of times, we're just surprised you didn't say anything sooner!" Grabbing Inuyasha's hand, Kagome smiled up at him before looking back at her other friends. "Me and Inuyasha have had a relationship for quite a long time now, we really don't care who sees us. It's just that Inuyasha has his moments where he goes off after Kikyo… And I wanted him to choose…" she squeezed his hand. "Which he finally did."

Miroku smiled over to Sango, nodding his head as he squeezed her hand as well. "Should we get some sleep now?" he asked, looking over at the fast-asleep Shippo and Kirara. "Inuyasha will have his hanyou characteristics back in a couple hours, and chances are we'll run into another demon attack, and it would be a good thing to be well rested."

Sango nodded, laying down once again, laughing as she noticed that she had pulled Miroku down with her. Inuyasha and Kagome looked at one another and shrugged, Kagome then turning around and dragging Inuyasha back to where their 'bedding' was set up.

It didn't take long for Kagome to fall asleep again, the only difference now that she was laying in Inuyasha's arms, her blanket wrapped around the two. Inuyasha smiled down at the sleeping Kagome, feeling his face go soft as he saw her soft face, at the time seeming like not having a care in the world. Brushing hair out of her face as he slightly kissed her forehead, Inuyasha tightened his grip around Kagome. "Kagome… I don't know what I can do for you, but I'll always be by your side… I love you, and I always will."

The end!

Yes, a corny ending, but what can ya do? Laughs I like to end my stories sweetly! Anyway, how'd you like it? Please review! And, in case your wondering, part of Inuyasha's last line is what Kagome things at the end of "Return To The Place Where We First Met," right after Inuyasha wrapped his claws around Kagome's hand. (I hope you know what I'm talking about, that looks really confusing because of how I typed it…) 

Until next time,

Ja ne!

-Cindy Kay Sloop


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